heaven can wait
by sweetreject
Summary: AU. "I was ready to die, you know. I accepted that fact. But then you came along and changed everything." SasuSaku


**h e a v e n**

**c a n**

**w a i t**

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_i  
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She had to run faster. Had to get away.

Her heart beat madly in her chest, mixing with the almost-silent thumps of her bare feet on the cold ground as she ran faster and faster through the forest. Every other step she tripped over an overgrown root in her path, the only light coming from the full moon that shown through the thick branches of the trees.

Gasping, she lifted herself up again. Her bubblegum-pink hair was sleek with sweat, her hands dirty (_her legs bloody_). Still, the only thought running through her mind was that she had to _get away_.

Her eyes grew wide.

_No…_

There was nowhere else to run. Looking over the edge of the cliff in front of her, she saw only darkness. If she jumped…-Too late to decide; they already had her surrounded.

A determined look replaced the fear on her face. Taking a step back, she lined her feet straight on the edge of the cliff, glaring at the twenty or so men standing a few feet away.

"…foolish girl! If you jump, you'll die! Come with us; we promise we won't kill you!"

_Liar._

As soon as she gave up, they'd check her for The Mark, and if she didn't have it, they would kill her. Just like they'd done with all the other girls in her village.

She smiled suddenly, surprising them all.

One of the younger men started running towards her, yelling out, "Wait!", and for a second, she thought she recognized his voice-

-then she fell.

The wind graced her skin, softer than she'd thought it would feel; every second brought her closer to her death.

Closing her eyes, the image of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl flashed into her mind, and she whispered out, "Ino…" Her one and only friend, one of the first girls to get killed. At least she'd be joining her soon…

But instead of feeling the hard impact she had expected, the thing she landed on was _warm_, and a small "Oomph!" came out when it caught her. Opening her eyes, she gasped. It wasn't a thing; it was a _he_.

He looked down at her, dark loose hair falling over his eyes. "What the…hell?"

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_**[—]**_

She groaned.

Her eyes opened slowly, the faint trace of light in the sky catching her attention.

_That's right… _She was running away from the men who came into her village. They were going to _kill _her.

She sat up quickly, almost falling over at the sudden dizzying feeling that hit her.

"You shouldn't be moving so quickly; you'll end up hurting yourself."

Her head snapped up to look at whoever had spoken. The man sitting a few feet away from her wasn't wearing the other men's clothes. Her body relaxed. _He's not one of them… _

"What…happened?" She couldn't remember how she had ended up with this man- _No…he's just a boy. _Who _was _he, anyway?

He wasn't looking her way anymore. He was looking off into the distance, although she was sure he was watching her from the corner of his eyes. His lips parted, and the deep, hoarse voice that came out seemed to fit his lonely appearance. "You fell."

Her mind brought up a flood of images: the men, the cliff, the boy, and…Ino.

Tears flowed thickly from her eyes, and she drew in a deep breath. Wiping angrily at her eyes, she scolded herself. Ino would have called her a crybaby if she saw her life this. She shouldn't be crying _now_, not when she needed to think about what she was going to do next.

Turning to look at her savior, the thank you she was about to say stuck in her throat.

The orange-tinted sun was hitting him from behind, casting shadows over his face, but also a glow that seemed to surround him. His dark, charcoal eyes were looking straight at her, his midnight-blue hair framing his face. His skin was pale, and in that moment, she thought he looked like such a sad _angel_.

She looked away quickly. How could **he **look like an angel? Maybe the fall had damaged her head. He had clothes on that showed he was a wanderer. _They don't look like they're made out of cheap material, though…_

She cleared her throat. "Thank you for…saving me."

He didn't say anything. The sun rose higher, and time passed by before he breathed out, "Don't be." Turning to look back at her, he said, "It wasn't my intention to stop you from dying. You threw yourself off a cliff."

Her jaw almost dropped. _Of course! He thinks I was trying to kill myself… _Which was partially true, but still. It made her cheeks burn. "You've got it all wrong! I wasn't trying to…_kill _myself. I was being chased-" She stopped abruptly. _Stupid, stupid! _If she told him who it was that was chasing her, he would turn her over to the authorities.

They would _kill _her.

She expected him to ask her who was chasing her, to demand she finish her sentence, but he didn't.

Instead, he stoop up and walked over to her, kneeling down until they were at eye-level. Up close, she could see that his eyes were pitch-black. _So…beautiful…_ His hand startled her when it reached toward her, until she realized that he was helping her stand up. She put her hand in his, never looking away from his eyes as they both slowly stood up.

He let go of her hand very slowly, watching her intently in case she fell. When he saw she was standing perfectly fine, he turned around to pick up his few belongings.

That was when she noticed the sword.

It was hard to see it before because of the black clothes he was wearing. Her eyes grew wide, fear causing a shiver to run down her spine.

"There's a small town nearby; it'll only take about an hour to get there-"

"Who _are _you?" She clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. _Am I __**trying **__to get myself killed! _"I mean…it's just that you _saved _me, and I don't even know your **name**." He stood only two feet away from her, staring. It made her feel uncomfortable. Sucking in a deep breath, she stuttered out quickly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, it's okay, I-"

"Sasuke." He looked away from her now, to the clothes he was wearing; the sword hid behind the loose layers, but she knew exactly where it was. He'd noticed her fear. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

"But they're _illegal_. Only Lord Uchiha's men can carry them." Her voice quivered when she said _that man's _name, but if he noticed, he chose to ignore it. "It's illegal."

"That's exactly why I have it. Those men…they don't care who they kill." His eyes moved away from her again, to the road they would soon be walking. "They don't deserve to live." His words were meant only for himself, but the whispered words carried her way faintly.

She shivered again. _Those words…_

He saw her shiver, and before she could say anything, he dropped the top layer he'd been wearing on her shoulders. "Huh?" She looked down at the piece of clothing, warm and soft against her bare shoulders, and then looked up at him again. _Oh…he thought…he thought I was __**cold**__… _Her eyes stayed down as she said, "Thanks…" She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, and the sudden urge to laugh made her feel like a child.

He was still watching her, his eyes as emotionless as ever. It only made her wonder what had caused him to be this way. _Everyone starts out happy, don't they? _

She smiled up at him, her cheeks still as pink as her hair. Laughing, she said brightly, "Thank you, Sasuke-san."

_For showing me I can still laugh…_

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_**[—]**_

The town they walked into was crowded, children running around and men trying to sell their products on stands. Women balanced baskets full of bread or water, holding the little ones close to their sides. It seemed busy, yet somehow peaceful at the same time.

_It looks…amazing._

She'd never been outside of her village; everything was new to her. "What are those men doing, Sasuke-san?"

He followed her pointed finger, where four men sat around a table, smoke covering most of the air around them. "They're playing cards." At her look, he added, "Gambling."

"Oh." She walked behind him, close enough to grad onto his arm if she needed to, but far away enough so that he wouldn't feel that she was taking up his personal space.

"Miss! What beautiful skin you have! It would look even more lovely with these sparkling necklaces, don't you think?" The man across the booth in front of her grinned widely at her. She shrunk back into the dark clothing Sasuke had given her, looking tentatively at the shining necklaces spread out on the booth.

The man turned to look at Sasuke, his grin still in place. "The young lady seems to want one, sir. Shouldn't you buy your lovely wife something that matches her beauty?"

Her head snapped up at those words. "Huh? Oh, no, we're not-"

"Let's go." He placed a hand under her elbow, guiding her down a narrower street. She turned to give a quick apology to the man, then followed Sasuke's quick steps. It was hard to keep up with his longer strides.

There weren't as many people around, and the quietness brought up questions she had been trying to ignore. _What am I supposed to do now? I don't have any money…and Sasuke-san doesn't seem like he would want to take me with him, wherever he's going…_ Her eyes stayed locked on her bare feet, wrapped in bandages. Sasuke had even tended to her injuries while she was unconscious. _I don't even __**know **__him… _Yet she couldn't shake off the feeling of security she felt around him. Was it strange to think so much of him even though they had only met hours ago?

He stopped suddenly, causing her to bump into him hard enough to knock her backwards. He caught her effortlessly, letting her go slowly. "Be careful."

"Sorry." She mumbled.

Without saying another word, Sasuke opened the door they'd stopped in front of. They walked into what seemed like a gathering room, although at the moment it was empty except for a woman sitting at a table by herself. She looked up at them when they came in, a smile lighting up her face. "Well if it isn't Sasuke! About time you came to visit." She laughed at his grunt, her eyes finally falling on the smaller figure behind him. "Oh? And who's this? Don't tell me you finally decided to settle down, kid!"

"She needs a place to stay, Tsunade." He ignored her teasing, stepping sideways so Tsunade could see her better.

"Well you brought her to the right place." Turning to look at her, she said, "You can cook or clean, can't you, kid?"

She turned to Sasuke. He nodded once at her, and she turned back to Tsunade. "Yes, um, I can cook better than I can clean…Tsunade-san."

"Perfect! You'll fit right in, then, kid." Tsunade's favorite word, she decided, was probably 'kid'. Not that she would ever ask out loud. "How long are you going to be staying, Sasuke? Longer than last time, I hope." She never asked how Sasuke had met her, or why she needed a place to stay. It seemed this wasn't the first time Tsunade had taken someone in.

"I can't stay this time." He looked her straight in the eyes, his voice even more serious, "They've already started their plan, Tsunade."

She nodded. "At least eat something before you go."

Sasuke shook his head, turning to look at the door. "I can't waste any more time."

Tsunade sighed, but nodded in understanding. "Alright, then. Good luck, kid. I'll make sure to take good care of her." She flashed a smile in her direction.

Tsunade's smile didn't seem to fit the mood. Ever since she was little, she had been able to tell when someone was trying to hide something; Tsunade's smile was practically _screaming _the worry she felt.

_Is he…going to do something dangerous? _She looked up at him. _Is that why he had the sword? And-He's going to leave me here… _Her heart twisted.

Sasuke took a step closer to the door, already leaving, but two small arms that wrapped around his waist stopped him in his tracks. Looking down, he stared into large emerald eyes. At first glance, her eyes seemed full of innocence, but Sasuke had lived long enough to see the truth inside them. Her lips parted, but no words came out. Seconds passed, and after staring into her eyes for some time, he found himself looking away (_she didn't know who he really was; what he did to survive_).

He reached down to grab her arms. Placing them gently at her sides, he said, "I need to go." His hand was around the doorknob when a small voice whispered, "Be careful."

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_**[—]**_

As he left the village, the image of the pink-haired girl looking up at him popped back into his mind, and he realized that he never asked for her name.

_That girl…_

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**A/N: Wanted to try something new, so I did. :D**

**Hopefully it works out!**


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